


In So Many Words: Avengers Edition

by satbiym



Series: Tumblr Meta and Ficlets [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, M/M, Meta, Originally Posted on Tumblr, headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-05 19:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 7,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14625914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satbiym/pseuds/satbiym
Summary: A collection of my meta, headcanons and ficlets, originally posted on Tumblr.Be advised: The format of this does not adhere to the traditional fic format.





	1. Stane and Hydra

I just realized……Hydra knew super-soldiers could survive despite being cryogenically frozen, because they did it to the Winter Soldier.  
So they knew for certain that Captain America was alive after he crashed the plane in the Arctic.

I find the timing of Cap’s find very suspicious.

I personally believe Obadiah Stane was somewhat affiliated with Hydra (and had them send the Winter Soldier to have Howard killed). And he could easily influence where Howard searched for Steve and the plane.

I believe that Obadiah misdirected Howard intentionally whenever it looled like he was close, bc Hydra didn’t want Captain America back.  
It was only when Obadiah died that SHIELD found Cap.


	2. Tony and Anxiety

Someone talk to me about Tony’s anxiety, that beast that resides under his skin. I know it really  _manifested_ after New York….but I think it was always present in him. It just became unmanageable after he got up-close-and-personal with space.

Talk to me about that young kid with floppy hair and big brown eyes, who used to clutch Jarvis’s hands extra tight before meeting important people he had to impress on behalf of the Stark name.

How he used excessive drinking after his parents died as a way to cope with the crippling sense of  _not-good-enough-oh-god-what-do-I-do_ after his parents die and Stark Industries is left in his hands, and papers are running articles on how shareholders should get out now before the untried heir ruins them.

Let’s not think about how much Tony likes coffee, because the warmth reminds his body that everything is okay, and helps calm his quivering heart.

How Tony’s heart suddenly beats faster every time someone screams at him. But he has been trained since a young age not to show it on his face.

Tony probably tried some drugs in college, and realized it would be way too easy to let them calm him down. They would pull him under indefinitely. So, he stuck with drinking.

He hired Happy to help him burn off the excess energy and keep his anxiety in check.

But he still fidgeted every spare second he got. He still can’t stand silence or uninteresting conversation.  _He has to move._  No wonder hates SI board meetings.

So he multi-tasks, he fits his houses with JARVIS and screens, and talks and works and bothers Pepper at the same time.

Pepper’s unrelenting competence slows his heart-rate at the very least. He can trust her work.

He is a champion avoider. Can avoid problems like no one else. It’s why Pepper’s emails and messages go unanswered until JARVIS sasses him responding.

Just….let’s talk about anxiety that isn’t debilitating (yet), but is very much present.


	3. Amalgamation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short posts, can be standalone.

No, but Fury pairing up the Avengers and forcing them to do interviews.

Reporters gleefully asking Capt. America, who he thought is the most beautiful Avenger, hoping that he would answer with an obvious, “Natasha, of course”, so they could get a romantic spin out of the whole thing.

Steve, taken off-guard, immediately going with the name going around in his head, “Tony, of course.”

Natasha, his press release partner, stifling her laughter.

* * *

Headcanon - Steve and Tony aren’t allowed to be on the same team for games anymore.

The first time a TV show host puts them together for a game of pictionary, all the remaining Avengers groan in unison to the bemusement of the audience.

Of course they understand why when Steve guesses “Puppeteer” with Tony’s drawing of a plus sign with strings on it, and when Tony guesses “Frog in the throat” with Steve’s realistic drawing of a frog jumping.

Don’t even get the Avengers started on the massacre that is Charades. Seeing as 70% of Steve and Tony’s relationship is based on meaningful stares and gestures.

* * *

 

We learn to speak from our teachers and parents. I have a feeling that in Tony’s house, Jarvis was the only person he  _really_ interacted with.

I think Tony can do a flawless British accent. No one really knows about this (why would they?); but for a mission, Steve and Tony are undercover, and to disguise his identity, Tony decides to dust off his British accent.

Needless to say, Steve had a really hard time on that mission.

* * *

Tony tutoring Steve tho.

Clint walks in and sees the two heads bent over one book, discreetly looking at the other when they think the other isn’t looking.

“So, what’s going on here?”

Tony looks up, “Chemistry”

Clint snorts, “Yes, DUH. But what are you two studying?”

Bruce laughs in his corner as Tony shoots frantic looks at Steve to see if he got Clint’s meaning.

* * *

Yes, but Steve Rogers not being able to sleep uninterrupted, unless there is someone ( _Tony_ ) with him…..the heat of the other body, chasing away memories of seeping cold North Atlantic waters.

So, when Steve and Tony get into a huge fight, a Steve-and-Tony  _fight_ (something that involves more explosions than the 4th of July), Steve fully expects  to sleep alone that night, for surely the Tony who had looked so utterly disgusted and stormed off to his workshop, didn’t want to lie in bed with the same man he was hurling obscenities at not 3 hours before.

So, imagine his surprise when 5 minutes after he had decided to turn in, resigned to a night of meeting old ghosts, the bed moves as a small body gets comfortable in it.

(The only reason Steve knew his Tony was still pissed, was the lack of his pre-rest wiggling, where he tried to get as comfortable as possible in different permutations and combinations)

Steve, afraid to make Tony remember and subsequently  _leave,_ bravely whispering a hopeful, “ _Tony?”_

To which his bed partner only wiggles closer and stoically says, “This doesn’t mean our fight is over, but you’re brain damaged if you think I’m going to let you go to bed alone”

Smiling, Steve pulling Tony closer and burying his face in his thick, sweet smelling hair.

“Of course, Tony”

* * *

Tony losing a bet with Bruce, and Bruce making him wear his old heart rate moniter watch as a result (This uncharacteristic bet may have been struck because Bruce may or may not have read Tony’s medical records, and he may or may not be worried about Tony’s heart, post arc-reactor, shut up Natasha.)

The Avengers watching in amusement as the watch goes crazy every time Steve smiles, enters a room, goes shirtless, makes Tony coffee….or generally, exists in the same room as Tony.

Tony coughing and stammering out something about side-effects of the arc-reactor surgery, his heart always beats this fast, who’s the genius here, Hawkass?

Steve believing Tony, and everyone, even Thor, sighing in frustration.

Clint and Natasha tag-teaming Steve into watching videos of Tony in rooms without Steve, and Steve going  _ah._

* * *

Imagine how much easier everything in Civil War would’ve been if Steve was turned into a tiny kitten.

Just….tiny kitten Steve who cannot  _for the life of him_ let go of Tony. And Tony, who has used up his bastard quota, cannot let the tiny thing depending on him, cry.

Plus, the kitten helps whenever he gets extra worried about Steve’s absence.

So, he attends all his meetings with a furry accessory that PETA cannot object to.

And slowly Steve realizes what the actual deal is. Why Tony is for SHRA.

When Steve has no option but to listen, and Tony’s walls aren’t up and isn’t trying to protect Steve from himself…..they both understand each other.

* * *

WHY ISN’T THERE AN AVATAR STONY AU????? AVATAR STEVE, FROZEN IN ICE????? FOUND BY TONY AND CLINT

AND THEN THEY HAVE MERRY ADVENTURES AND SHIT

CLINT WITH HIS BOOMERANG ARROWS AND TONY WITH HIS TONY-NESS AND STEEB ENRAPTURED WITH THE FACE OF THE FIRST PERSON HE SAW AFTER BEING UNFROZEN

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

* * *

Can we talk about how Tony is the heart of the Avengers????? and Steve is the head???? Like they compliment each other flawlessly????

In the field, Steve arranges the troops, and Tony looks out for them from above.

In the field, Tony builds weapons to protect his team, while Steve helps them use them.

How Tony builds them rooms in his house, and protects them the only way he knows how - by giving them a home to come back to.

By giving them options.

How Tony is willing to sacrifice his own soul, so his team won’t have to?

* * *

“I’m not a team player”, Tony says right before he builds a bunch of apartments for the Avengers in his brand-spanking-new, state of the art Tower .

“I don’t play well with others”, Tony mumbles, as he builds his team weapons and a fancy helicarrier.

“I am a lone gunslinger”,

he grumbles mentally, as he threatens government officials coming after Natasha, Clint and Sam for the SHIELD fiasco. “I operate alone”, he whispers desperately as Pepper and Rhodey laugh at him.

* * *

 

Listen, Steve lives a very simple life. He goes to his Ma’s place for dinner every Sunday, eats with Natasha and Sam during lunch every other day, and spends his time (the time he isn’t at work) with his best friend Bucky.

Only, occasionally he gets kidnapped by the super-thief Iron Man….but in Iron Man’s defense he always returns Steve back to where he picked (Stole) him from. And after that one time, Iron Man makes sure Steve doesn’t miss dinner with his Ma.

It’s complicated, okay.

* * *

Silly baby Steve in college, full of hope and  _sincerity._ He just wants to help people. He gets it into his head that he is going to volunteer for a program that helps international students with their English.

Tony, wanting to get back to his mother’s Italian roots and leave his father in the dust (where he belong), putting an ad on the university’s job website,  _Need: a conversation partner for Italian, will pay lots and lots of moolah._

An overworked worker getting shit mixed up, and placing Tony’s request in the local volunteering group.

Steve looking at Tony’s request and thinking,  _oh wow, looks like I’ve my work cut out for me. Huh._

Tony checking out the babe sitting in the corner, with a notebook and pen. When the anxious looking blonde cocks his head at Tony and the pizza box in his hand (what?! he was hungry).

Steve stumbling over and introducing himself to Tony in broken Italian. Tony thinking,  _wow, this guy needs help. Even more than me._

This starts the most humiliating experience of Tony and Steve’s life, where Tony tries to gently nudge Steve into speaking Italian (by speaking Italian, himself), and Steve tries to encourage Tony to speak in English (by talking slowly and persistently in English)…all while trying not to stare at each other too long (Oh god! I hope he doesn’t catch me checking him out).

Finally after one hour of halting sentences, bizarre pointing and awkward boners, Steve gives up, and tries speaking Italian, “Listen I want to help you with your English. But you have to try speaking it first.”

“What.”

And that kids is how Tony Stark was so outraged that he took Steve out on a date.

“You thought I was Italian because of the  _pizza_ in my hand? This is not Italian pizza! This is what Italians shit out after eating Pizza. This is horrible, I cannot look at you, right now! What’s your number? I’m taking you out for a  _real_ Italian Pizza, capiche? Jesus Fuck!”

Steve just blinks a lot as Tony manhandles his phone out of him and then rants about how shitty the phone is.

* * *

Bones AU though

Special Agent Steve Rogers being forced to partner up with genius ( _and the leading expert in the world in Forensic Anthropology, thank you very much)_ Tony Stark, for Tony’s extended support in his murder investigations.

Media darling and author, Tony Stark dedicating his books to “ _my rudder, Special Agent Steve Rogers for I wouldn’t be half as good at anything as I’m when I’m doing it next to you…….except Forensic Anthropology, of course. I’m still the best in that.”_

Late nights spent pouring over cases, and trusting each other, going on “Not-Dates” to the local diner, finding loopholes in Fury’s edicts, going undercover and getting buried alive (and rescued).

Their partnership surviving broken homes and tragic backstories, the irritating psychologist who seemed to have imprinted on them, serial killers, cannibals and false murder charges. 

Just……unlimited trust and friendship with an under layer of UST and deep, abiding love.

Countless, “Hey! you cannot talk to him like that.” and “Steve Rogers is the best man I know, so I would watch myself before I say another negative word about him in front of me, if I were you…..of course this is assuming you have the minimum intelligence required to make that decision” and “I’m not as unfeeling as people think I am, Steve”/“ What you are is Iceland. Cool to the touch but underneath all volcano!“

* * *

Stony, Alice in Wonderland AU. 

With Alice!Steve and Mad-Hatter!Tony.

The first thing Tony tells Steve is, “Hello. My name is Tony, and I’ll be your tour-guide for the near future…or however long you last in this place”

Plot twist, Steve climbing out of the “hole” is him waking up to the 21st century. 

Turns out it was a program to help Steve assimilate to the modern era.

Made by Tony Stark, of course. Who repeats to Steve the first thing he told him in Wonderland, “Hello. My name is Tony, and I’ll be your tour-guide for the future”

Of course, Steve’s “muchness” is a metaphor for pre-depression/pre-suicidal Steve.

* * *

I genuinely see Tony as being demisexual or someone who falls in love with someone’s mind/personality, rather than aesthetic appeal (though, like his mother he does have a soft spot for beauty. Sleek with clean lines and bold appeal, something that isn’t afraid to shout, but is still the classiest bitch in town. Very Italian).

But he had to build this reputation as a philandering playboy because of Howard’s legacy. And he had to leave behind that shy, sensitive boy who loved trailing behind strong women (Anna, Maria, Peggy) watching them survey their realm, and  _be_ the Stark heir -  _fearless, modern -_ a personification of the weapons he was going to sell (it’s okay, don’t worry. this isn’t a sad story. He grows up and learns that you aren’t meant to design yourself in the image of objects, and he starts creating things that are symbolic to him, rather than the other way around. Arc reactors, Iron Men, JARVIS, the Avengers….things that save rather than destroy. Things that were beautiful still, dangerously so, but more  _Tony_  than anything else he had ever made under Obie).

He built armors (not the tangible kinds he went on to make later on) and faked laughter, he schmoozed and boozed.

He had buried that young boy so deep inside that he himself forgot he had ever existed, forever remembering the parties, the hazy nights, the endless drone of meetings, and the women who wanted to sleep with the rich, charismatic genius who could do wonders for their career.

But however much he tried he couldn’t stop his still soft heart from wanting people that were real. So he just rolled up his sleeves and created the realest people he would know. Thus, were born Dummy, Butterfingers, U, and later, JARVIS.

Tony loved them not because of how smart and elegant their code was, or even how they represented his genius…but because of the way Dummy carried around a fire extinguisher and hovered warily whenever Tony handled firearms, and how JARVIS dryly swapped witticisms with him whenever he felt lonely, and how Butterfingers and U were always trying to cover up broken shards of machinery with a ill-placed blanket in the middle of the workshop (he knew he was often sleep deprived, but even he was going to notice a suspiciously raised blanket and 2 robots doing the robot version of whistling innocently nearby).

Because they were the realest people he knew, and he loved them best.

Then comes Pepper, Rhodey leaves (And returns!), Iron Man, and the Avengers.

And Tony’s world changes again.

* * *

 

 


	4. Tony Stark: On Caring

_Tony Stark will never remember your birthday_

People often repeat this to anyone who might show the slightest inclination of committing the horrible crime of befriending (or god forbid,  _loving) Tony Stark,_ as a warning, as a way of warranting good karma.

That is why all the Avengers are surprised, when after a long trip for SI in India, Tony strolls in and wordlessly drops a big bag of Assam Tea into Bruce’s lap.

When after a trip to Russia, Natasha finds an exquisitely painted set of Matryoshka dolls, each more beautiful than the one before it, a hastily scrawled note with a  _Thought of you,_ accompanying it.

Steve finds vintage, posters of Pin-up girls from his time in a carefully preserved box.  _Maybe if girls today aren’t doing it for you, they will._

Clint receiving cheap, silly toys one might find in stalls set up in circuses.

Thor’s suite in the Tower, decorated with Norse art (and if a couple of them featured Loki…well….) and useless infomercial crap bought from China and Japan (Thor for some reason, found them  _delightful)._

Now whenever the press or “well-meaning” guests mention Tony’s  _forgetfulness,_ the team has nothing but scorn for them.

Because, what’s the appeal in being told you are in someone’s mind on the most obvious day of the year, when you can be reminded every time your eyes fall on some silly bauble that pulled you together when the nightmares and missions started winning? So what if a man who spends his days not knowing what month it is, doesn’t send a birthday card?

Because family isn’t about that one day of the year, it’s the 364 days where you might need that reminder of someone’s love for you, that really matters. 


	5. The World vs Avengers

Seeing how  _integrated_ the MCU superheroes are with the non-superhero world. [And seeing how their comic book counterparts made so many questionable life choices. ](http://transcendingintellect.tumblr.com/post/134060390923/showgirlsteve-showgirlsteve-squeeful#notes)I just want magazines and news channels talking about their costume choices at length. 

Give me Joan Rivers shrieking nasally at the camera, “I’m just saying, if you’re gonna wear  _that_ while rescuing me, I’d rather die by the hands of a supervillain, than be near that purple monstrosity” 

Clint sharpening his arrows, muttering “maybe I won’t”

News channel reporters seriously discussing if Iron Man’s mini-skirt suit increases his crime fighting ability. “And now we have fashion expert, Edna Mode, in with us to talk about Captain America’s Nomad costume”

The Met Gala having a “superhero” theme, and half the celebrities coming in with elaborate capes (that make Edna put her head in her hands), and knee-high boots. (It was the first year the fancy gala was nicknamed “Stripper Bar on Superhero Night” in social media….it trended on Twitter)

Tony quietly buying off companies that produce action figures wearing his more unfortunate sartorial choices. (While he thinks his every suit is an impeccable work of Art and Engineering….even his shamelessness has limits)

Steve having to sign photos of him in his navel baring costume, and Clint gleefully signing his nude legs.

Natasha just  _looks_  at the idiotic soul who has the temerity to bring up her fishnet outfit.

Fashion police and Project Runway, diplomatically critiquing the costumes.

Also, designers and superhero aficionados copying the awful outfits, leading to an era of bad fashion choices. 

Just……think about it.


	6. Early Marriage AU

Just….early hidden marriage!Stony.

Steve is defrosted, Tony and Steve fight, they reconcile, yada yada yada

They secretly start dating!!!! It’s going really well, they can see out-waiting eternity with the other, a year passes.

Two.

People still have no clue about the other, since everyone is still hung on the Super-Hetero!Captain America image, it’s why their more….suspicious moments are easily written off as “bros being bros”.

Tony proposes in a rundown warehouse, bloody and running on adrenaline with the realization that Steve’s face is the last he wants to see before he dies. Steve accepts.

They marry. 

JARVIS gets a marriage license and officiates the wedding. 

(If you argue the legality of a marriage via a non-human entity, Steve and Tony will punch you. So, just don’t, son)

All the while this is happening, Steve is fending off “any special ladies in your life?”’s and matchmaking sessions, and Tony is being subjected to suspicious looks from Pepper and Rhodey.

But they know that the minute the secret is out, it’s out. They both lose the most precious (And fragile) thing they’ve ever entered, to speculation, intrusive friends and the public.

Not to say that they aren’t tempted. 

But if Clint’s secret life taught them anything, it is that secrecy is the prevention in the “prevention is better than the cure” saying.

Fast forward 10 years, and “bros being bros”, and comedic obliviousness of high level spies.

Tony ends his retirement from the Avengers press conference with “And I would like to thank my husband of a decade, Steve Rogers for fighting beside me all these years.”

Pepper just shakes her head, she knew his suspiciously good behaviour for the past decade was leading up to a big explosion. This was worth every paranoid thought she’d guiltily harbored during that time.


	7. Tony Stark's Kids

I just realized that the Tony Stark version of, Batman training/adopting a bunch of kids and them trailing after him like a bunch of duckings, is him creating a bunch of bots and AIs and them trailing after him as he throws dubious wisdom at their bemused faces.

Someone give me art of Tony walking out of his lab, in the middle of a sentence, and the bots just following him out of it to continue listening. JARVIS is course going “No, don’t listen to him”, as an older brother should, but also smiling bashfully as Tony praises the prodigal sibling, a slight smug “ _He likes me best, and depends on me. I get to ride his car (Iron Man armor) with him_ “ edge.

Give me the bots trying to help Tony with the Iron Man armor! Because damn it dad we can help too! a little bit of “I wanna fight crime like my dad”

FRIDAY panicking because  _oh-god-who-knew-dad-was-so-fucking-moronic-for-someone-so-smart-please-stop-trying-to-kill-yourself_

JARVIS is completely baffled by his younger (older, if you take time as a measurement of age, which he  **doesn’t** ) siblings.  _Dummy stop hitting U with a wrench, you both can fetch Sir the soldering iron. NOT AT THE SAME TIME YOU IDIOTS_.

The tiny cleaner bots like playing an extended game of hide and seek with their creator…like kittens do.

Clint often gives an acknowledging nod to the few hiding up in the vents. He likes them, unlike  _some people_  they get the importance of  _silence_ while in high places.

Natasha likes hide and seek, it keeps her expensive-world-saving skills from getting rusty. Of course she likes to play with Tony’s ever-present terror of her, and hides a lot of his things in her room.

What? She’s helping him get over his fear of her. This is practically a team exercise, Steve. It helps team relations! You should be thanking me!

Of course, when she manages to hide Dummy in her quarters, Tony has had enough. You can’t just  _take_  his overgrown bot, without his permission! He still hasn’t recovered from Dummy getting blown apart by terrorists yet, and he has a heart condition, Natasha god! 

(Give him back!

_And here I thought you were planning on sending him to city college_

Steve! make Natasha give me my bot back

I don’t know, Tony. You  _were_ awfully mean to him yesterday.

This is the thanks I get for opening my house to you misfits. Outright thievery! I demand a refund.

I’ll be sure to add that to SHIELD’s agenda-oh wait.

Fuck you, Steve. Fuck you to the next century.

Promises, promises.)

When Pepper is really mad at Tony, the house just stills, there is no other word for it. The cleaner bots stop jumping out from corners (or  _down_ from vents, sometimes Tony feels like he created mini Spidermen to clean his tower), Dummy tries harder to not mess up, JARVIS sasses Tony more (but more gently than normal) to make up for the Pepper void, U follows Butterfingers around to make sure the he doesn’t drop anything  _else_.

Of course when Tony is in a good mood. It’s a whole new story.

He steals some of Natasha’s yarn (what? SHE STOLE FROM ME FIRST) and has his cleaner bots chase it. Dummy is given more “City College” esque insults…and more pats on his chassis, U and Butterfingers are indulged in their various eccentricities (U really likes pointing at people, he is especially fond of booping people’s noses. Thor thinks it’s a wonderful game. Tony has had to repair U’s dented frame on more than one occasion after an especially competitive game of “Boop”)

And JARVIS keeps sassing his creator.

JARVIS is a nice constant, and a bit of an asshole.

So when Tony tells some two bit reporter, “We all know I would be a horrible father-figure”, the team can’t help but guffaw loudly in disbelief.

Sure Tony, sure.


	8. TONY STARK

TONY STARK WITH PETS

TONY STARK WITH KIDS

TONY STARK WITH GIRLS TRYING TO GET INTO THE STEM FIELD

TONY STARK WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE DEPRESSED, ANXIOUS AND UNHAPPY, AND  _STILL TRYING SO FUCKING HARD EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THEIR LIFE EVEN WHEN NO ONE NOTICES_

TONY STARK WITH RHODEY AND PEPPER AND HAPPY

TONY STARK FLYING OVER TO RHODEY’S CLASSIFIED SITE, BECAUSE RHODEY ALMOST DIED ON A MISSION

TONY STARK HOLDING HANDS WITH THE HULK, SO HE DOESN’T LEAVE WITHOUT HIM

TONY STARK ANSWERING QUESTIONS AIMED TOWARDS NATASHA (“Why Christine, I thought you knew what I wore to bed”)

TONY STARK BUILDING JARVIS A FRIEND, SO HE DOESN’T GET LONELY WHEN TONY DIES

TONY STARK WRITING DUMMY AND YOU AND BUTTERFINGERS INTO HIS WILL, SO NO ONE MESSES WITH THEM…EVER

TONY STARK MASSAGING PEPPER’S FEET AFTER A LONG DAY OF WRANGLING ERRANT BILLIONAIRES AND SEXIST WHITE MEN

TONY STARK SINGING ITALIAN LULLABIES UNDER HIS BREATH WHILE CLUTCHING A TEAMING IN THE THROES OF A PANIC ATTACK

TONY STARK, LARGER THAN LIFE, DISTRACTING EVERYONE FROM THE ELEPHANT (HULK) IN THE ROOM

TONY STARK TONY STARK TONY STARK


	9. Reverse Civil War AU

Civil War AU where Tony Stark is shot on those steps, in front of his Greatest Almost, Steve Rogers.

AU where Steve Rogers is splattered with the blood of his dearest friend (and enemy) as he chokes on his own blood.

Where a scream is trapped in his throat and his face  _white white white_.

Where Steve Rogers collapses onto Tony’s still warm, lifeless body, trying to beat life back into him ( _And isn’t that all he is good for,_ Steve thinks with self-deprecation) .   

Days go by, and the war is finally stuttering to a stop, what with its two leaders out for the count.

As treaties are written, and compromises made…..Tony Stark is quietly laid to rest (”The only time he stays still…he never did listen to me” Pepper sobs)….and each side, shell shocked.

Steve is present for none of that.

He sits in his room, watching home film after home film of Tony laughing, of Tony smiling, of Tony looking at Steve with  _that look in his eyes,_ of  _Tony Tony Tony._

As the world raises their glasses to America’s Martyred Son, Steve sobs into the photo albums Jan had so carefully preserved, through decades of fighting and explosions.

“It wasn’t worth it, Tony. Not to me”

* * *

 

Steve gets an almost constant influx of visitors, all of whom he ignores.

Except for the man claiming he wanted to show Steve something.

After that visit, no one can find Steve Rogers anywhere.


	10. Tiberius AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off of a Tumblr post that has been deleted

So, Tiberius and Tony are dating. However, Tiberius starts feeling like Tony isn’t  _enough,_ and being the mega-douche that he is, he gives Tony an ultimatum, either we have an open relationship or we’re done.

Tony, poor baby Tony, terrified of losing the one “friend”, the one constant thing he’s had for 18 years, reluctantly agrees.

Fast forward 1 month. Tiberius, the mega-douche, high and dry, watching as Tony is wooed by a smitten and awed Steve Rogers. Steve, though unhappy with the “open” relationship, not being able to resist spending any time Tony would give him. Tony, for the first time in his life, being  _wanted_ and adored without any conditions or ultimatums. Tiberius spying on Tony’s dates, wondering what that two-bit mongrel, with barely 5 dollars to rub together, could be saying, that was making Tony laugh  _quite that hard._

Steve introducing Tony to his friends, silencing Bucky with a single look, keeping them from mentioning anything about Tiberius and the complicated relationship.

Natasha sharpening her knives, and Clint flanking Tony whenever Tiberius comes around to pick him up. Bruce shyly talking shop with  _Tony Stark,_ Thor enthusiastically welcoming Tony into the friend group and introducing him to Jane.

Tiberius enviously looking on as Tony steadily gains a support system, and actual friends who don’t care about Anthony Edward Stark, only Tony, the Mechanic.

Tiberius, refusing to kiss Tony, cruelly mentioning  _peasant disease, STDs, dammit Tony, why are you around them so much! they will never understand you._

Head ducked, eyes closed, Tony, for the first time in his life, removing himself from the equation. Tony looking up, eyes ablaze, pissed off.  _How dare anyone talk about his_   _friends that way?_

Tiberius giving Tony another ultimatum,  _them or me, Tony. You can’t have both. This was a mistake. There is no one else for the two of us._

Tony’s eyes catching on the paint on his hands, the same hands Steve had physically directed, Steve’s body pressed behind him, his head on Tony’s shoulder, into creating a painting for a gallery show.

Tony smiling, and saying “It’s them, Ty. It’s always him. Goodbye, Ty.”

Tony walking out of his apartment, running towards Steve’s. Tony jumping into Steve’s bed, and showering him with kisses, unabashed and free for the first time since this whole mess started.

Steve waking up to a manic Tony, with wind-swept hair and tender hands. 

Steve and Tony making love for the first time, as Tiberius collects his stuff from Tony’s apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MusicalLuna wrote a wonderful fic based on the above, you can find it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7889044/chapters/18019957)


	11. What Remains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: Tony is dead in this one.

Ok, but even if Steve lived forever, or had a very slow aging process, I don’t think he’d be alone.

I can imagine Steve, still reeling from the shock of seeing his normally vibrant and larger-than-life husband, still and pale and unresponsive  _to Steve.  
_

I can imagine Steve going into shock, and breaking down in Tony’s workshop, tearfully muttering, “This cannot be happening, he promised he would never leave me. He promised to always be here. He  _promised”_

And crying and crying and crying, curled up on Tony’s (Steve’s now) workshop floor.

And suddenly, there is a noise that Steve can’t be bothered to investigate (what’s the point, anything other than this would be a welcome relief), that draws closer to Steve’s hunched form.

And a heavy weight covers Steve’s body.

Steve looks up to see Dummy and U arranging the blanket, as Butterfingers dims the light and gets a pillow.

JARVIS, unspoken, cues up Steve and Tony’s wedding video, and alerts Bucky and Sam to Steve’s location (in case they were worried)

It takes Steve some time to realize, but the thing is Tony did come through on his promise.

He never did leave Steve’s side.

From then on, wherever Steve moved, he had to hire a van, bc he had some passengers with him.


	12. Ultron, JARVIS, Vision and Tony

I think about Tony telling JARVIS in IM1 “Sometimes you have to run before you can walk, JARVIS” a lot.

As mature, long suffering, and  _British_  as JARVIS may seem…..he is very much a product of a single parent. The ultimate super-genius, precocious son born to a 20 year old.

The kind of kid who had to grow up fast, bc he knew his parent needed him. But still learnt from his parent every day, in tiny ways.

He was cautious bc he had seen first hand what happens when you aren’t,  _someone in this house should be, Sir,_ overly polite and a bunch of other things that complement Tony.

But but but, the one reason he didn’t become Ultron 2.0 is the very inherent Tony trait, buried deep down and the reason for all of his antics,  _the sheer wonder in the world around him_

Think about it. He was all for flying away in a panic when faced with a potentially hostile group of people (cough Tony cough), but  **he stopped.** He stops when he catches his first glimpse of what humanity can achieve.

Did it look familiar?

Bc children aren’t a photocopy of their parents.

Ultron…he may be Tony’s as much as Vision is (well kind of, the math works out so that Ultron is 100% Tony’s, while Vision is 50% Ultron (and thus 25%Tony’s) and 50% JARVIS’s (around 25% Tony’s) = Vision is 50% Tony’s. Tony is Vision’s father and (paternal AND paternal) grandfather (is Vision the product of two men? MCU MAGAZINE COVER)…but since they are all code…..technically this Math doesn’t apply, and is incorrect.It is a complicated game of Inheritance), but he doesn’t have the, often self destructive,  _love_ Tony holds, deep in his heart, for the world and its people. 

He has all of Tony’s self loathing, genius and superiority in that genius (not to mention arrogance that his way is the necessary way) , with none of the compassion and the love that backs up his hard decisions.

But Vision.

Vision isn’t JARVIS. But his source code is JARVIS.

And JARVIS believes in the importance of moments, of humanity, of the beauty of impermanence (” _Welcome home, Sir”_ to the human he knew was going to die someday…but thank god that day wasn’t today). 

JARVIS who saw his creator try so hard every day to make up for his past wrongs, even if it shorted his own life. Who saw Tony work so hard to continue living, despite his depression and PTSD. Who was with his creator the many, many times he almost died, and faced those moments with a polite “JARVIS, call Pepper for me” and nothing else.

JARVIS gets impermanence. 

“Sometimes you have to run before you can walk, JARVIS”

Vision did exactly that, he was born fighting and screaming and running.

And he only stopped when he realized why someone would hold the reason for their death close and not let go, for something so fleeting as human existence.


	13. Chemistry

Sometimes I think about Steve and Tony, together as a couple, and I have to laugh….I mean, those two don’t do anything by halves, do they?

Tony in a relationship with the very pinnacle of human perfection…..as if that wasn’t daunting enough, Steve is every bit as good as his outside….you cannot get any better than Steve. (there is a reason Peggy favors women after Steve went down)

And Steve! imagine waking up after a long, long sleep….the technology has changed, what little science you learnt in school is now being taught to kids in the first grade. Your hands only know how to paint with blood, and your body (and shield) is the only thing you have left….and even that is new new new.

And you somehow befriend the most brilliant man in the world. The guy college students write their thesis on, a guy whose brain churns out ideas even Nobel Laureates cannot fathom.

A guy who represents the every essence of the world you’re trapped in.

And fast forward a few years, and you’re living with him. A guy who you have “shared experience” with, who screams and cries is his sleeps, and is kept alive by the very metal that keeps you alive (and traveled with you to this new world).

Somehow, years after missing your date, you fall in love with the “future” (” _I’m a futurist, Steve. It’s my job to predict and prepare for it_ ” _)_ …and you realize you don’t really long for the past anymore.

Just……Steve and Tony have impossible standards, and they seem to love dating superlatives. They are true equals (partners) in a relationship, a feat considering who they are. Everyone else, even other superheroes, cannot compare, bc of the sheer responsibility on their shoulders. It’ll be dating your boss, if they ever did try w/ someone else.

They’ll prob never break up, bc lets face it……who else will be good enough?


	14. Soulmate AU

An AU, where some lucky people have soulmates, people who come into your life and change it for the better, leave an imprint that last forever even if they personally don’t.

You only get one, two is…..for those who fate decides really, really needs it.

Tony Stark has two soulmates.

Of course, no one outside his inner circle knows of this, because Howard Stark would be damned if the crown prince of his weapons empire copped to  _needing someone,_ let alone two people. 

_Pathetic._

So Tony hid hid hid.

He wore long sleeves and coats and jeans, during the summer, winter and spring.

It was fucking embarrassing. 

He didn’t need anyone, he’d show them. He built a helper bot, from his own hands and genius. He was almost done with coding the pinnacle of AI software.

He didn’t need anyone. He was Tony fucking Stark.

-

Of course, then Tony Stark met his first bondmate, his first month in college. 

A Mr. James Rhodes who joined Tony in the first row of MIT’s junior level Robotics class. 

James Rhodes, who for the next three years fed and watered him, took him to parties under his careful supervision, and made sure Tony didn’t die from alcohol poisoning his first year in.

Tony, who made sure the future Colonel took a break and didn’t kill himself running laps with the ROTC, stayed up quizzing Rhodey for his ROTC classes, and partnered with him for projects.

Tony and Rhodey’s class projects ended up being the most explosive and elaborate term projects ever seen in MIT. They hacked together, coded together, drank each other under the table, and looked out for each other.

Maybe he did need Rhodey. Just a little bit. 

But the thing was, Rhodey needed him too.

-

So what if Rhodey was busy, all the time?

Tony wasn’t free either, he had people to do, things to ignore.

Then one Ms. Virginia Potts screamed in his face about a math mistake in the company books, and  _pepper sprayed_   _a six feet tall security guard while in the CEO’s office._

Tony promoted her on the spot.

Ten years later, he didn’t regret anything.

Neither said anything about the glimpses of  _Tony_ and  _Pepper,_ both had seen the other catching on each other’s shoulders.

She smiled, and said “Will that be all, Mr.Stark”

And his lips twitched as he parried, “That will be all Ms. Potts”

Maybe it was because they were soulmates, but an awful lot of their relationship (the important bits, anyway) was unspoken, and yet understood and reciprocated.

-

Tony was happy, despite his lot in life, he had people,  _soulmates,_ who looked out for him even when he didn’t need them to.

He was their family, and they were his.

Of course, then Extremis happened, and something unheard of took place.

History was made, as Tony noticed a bold “ **Steve** ” stark among his scar tissue, directly on top of his heart.

Extremis made you better than you were before. Tony hadn’t predicted this when he had read the fine print.

But this was fine. Normal even. Another platonic soulmate. He could deal with that. It was probably one sided anyway. Steve already had Bucky’s name on his hip.

Tony, as always, was an abnormality. 

That didn’t explain why Steve pulled him into a closet after debriefing though.

“What did you do, Tony?”

Outraged, “Nothing! What did you hear?”

Biting his lip, Steve tugged his shirt down, revealing a bright and clear “Tony” curled up next to his left nipple.

“Oh”

“Yeah, oh. What did you do, Tony?”

“It was..extremis”

“What.”

Tony made a “whoops” face.

And that kids is how Tony ended up as the first man to have not one, not two,  _but three soulmates, T_ wo platonic, and one romantic.

Whoops.


	15. The True Squad

What with all this “squad” nonsense going on in the Marvel fandom. I’m just going to write a lot of fluff about the team being all over each other.

White dudebro with a TV show: Let’s be honest here, Thor, Captain, and admit that Hawkeye is the the weakest of all the Avengers. 

Thor: That sentence is a lie onto itself. Hawkeye is a warrior fit as any of us.

Steve: He is better than us all.

–

Sleazy Interviewer: So tell me, Ms. Romanoff. The public wants to know. Are you wearing underwear underneath that skin tight sexy outfit?

Nat: *raises eyebrow*

Tony: More underwear than Steve wears underneath his, that’s for sure. Isn’t that right, Boss?

Steve: In my defense, I didn’t grow up wearing skinny jeans, Tony. 

Tony: And what a sight that would’ve been. Plus, _Agent_  Romanoff is used to concealing  _lots_ of things within that  _uniform_. She once produced a flamethrower from one of her pockets.

*laughter*

Tony: I guess her  _decades of experience_  as a super-secret spy assassin have served her well, huh?

Interviewer: *sweats noticeably*

–

Reporter: So, Mr. Banner, how do- so to speak-uh-get down and dirty, if you know what I mean, without the Hulk participating?

Clint:  _Dr. Banner_ is probably one of the smartest men on the planet. I’m sure he figured something out. 

Thor: If I weren’t in a relationship myself, I’d love to see what a handsome and strong shield brother like Hulk could do.

Tony: Really speaks to my size kink. 10/10 would take for a ride.

Steve: I think we should talk about something else unless we want the Hulk participating in this event.

–

Question submitted to a forum: This question is for Scarlet Witch. How did you reconcile yourself to work with the man who killed your parents? 

Wanda: The United States was never at war with Sokovia. Tony Stark has spent a lot of time trying to destroy the weapons, illegally sold, that led to the destruction of my home and country. He is as much a victim as me and my brother. As far as I’m concerned, he is a hero and a man I’m proud to fight with.

–  

Someone shouts from a crowd: GO BACK TO YOUR OWN DAMN PLANET, YOU ALIEN SCUM.

Steve: That sounds very similar to things people screamed on the streets during World War 2. It’s disappointing to see that we as a society haven’t progressed as far as I’d been promised.

Tony: Hear that, America? Captain America is disappointed in you. Why don’t you go to your room and think about what you’ve done.

Sam: That being said. Thor is an Avenger, and a crucial part to why we, as a team, have been successful and so many lives have been saved.

Clint: Hear hear.


	16. Bus AU

Tony cursed silently, as he tried to juggle his hardware kit and phone, while sandwiched still in a packed bus.

He really hated buses in the winter. Actually, he really just hated buses.

Jostling himself to a more comfortable position, Tony hoped the universe didn’t hate him enough to make him topple over.

The ducked heads fortunate enough to get a seat in the bus were really sketchy looking, and Tony didn’t fancy being knifed before he got to present his end term project to the MIT class.

If Tony had paid any attention to his hippy study partner’s ramblings, he would have known that he what he was doing was falling dangerously under “daring the universe” and “self-fulfilling prophecy”. But Thor liked to go off on tangents, and Tony had a small attention span regarding non-Engineering related things. 

Thus, what came next was a complete and utter surprise to Tony.

The bus stopped suddenly, inertia kicked into play, and Tony with his hands full and balance uncertain, fell.

Right into the lap of the guy he was standing next to.

With his hip digging into the stranger’s thigh, face staring into blue eyes and puppy-faced adorableness, Tony stuttered his apologies. 

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!”s and “Here, let me”s littered the air as both Tony and the stranger tried their best to make the situation less awkward.

Unsuccessfully so, as Tony’s, previously shut, hardware kit flew open, resistors and transistors skittering across the bus floor, tumbling to a stop next to passengers’ shoes.

Wide-eyed and dismayed, Tony rested his weight more firmly on the strong, muscled thigh, it was very comforting at such a trying time.

“Um…excuse me?” 

Tony looked up, (and up and up) to the boy he was now fully sitting on, with hopelessness.

“You’re still-I mean-you’re kind of still on me?”

Tony blinked at him, normally he was faster than this, but the lack of sleep and caffeine had caught up to him.

“I don’t mi-I mean-You can sta-I can help you? when the bus stops? To gather all the metal things?”

The beautiful boy was still talking.

“My name is Steve.”

“Tony”

At finally getting a response,  _Steve_ brightened, “Hi! Nice to meet you”.

Then Tony realized that the thigh he was occupying proprietorially didn’t actually belong to him.

Whoops.

And (regretfully) he swayed upright, smiling apologetically at the pretty blonde _Steve._

 _“_ Hi. Sorry about the whole-”, and he gestured to the amused onlookers, the floor glinting with MIT tech (and his end term project) and the universe in general, “just having a bad day, I guess”.

Steve’s lips twitched, “I hope it wasn’t _all bad”_

Tony looked up, interested despite himself. His brain compartmentalizing the   
“Engineering” part of his brain for the more immediate concern.

Flirting with a cute guy.

“No, I guess not.” Tony smiled.


	17. Amalgamation 2

H A H A H A

So, for y e a r s, Tony Stark had been upheld as The Standard: untouchable, better,  _separate._ He was someone who was The Best at whatever he tried.

 _This also isolated him._ Made people think he was Other. He was just Not Like Them.

So, now every time Tony Stark meets someone new he just finds a way to subconsciously erase the distance. He calls Doctor Strange “Facial-Hair Bros” reminding Strange that Tony was not so different from him. He reminds budding engineers that he is “just a Mechanic.” 

It’s why he likes being an Avenger so much, it serves as a reminder and proof to people that he is  _just like them._

He no longer wants the thorny crown of Specialness that people have been thrusting on his head from the day he was born. He just wants a place to belong and people he can call home.

I’m dying.

**Author's Note:**

> [ Tumblr ](http://satbiym.tumblr.com/)


End file.
